The Rest of the 2018 Snobby Awards

The Rest of the 2018 Snobby Awards

As you may already know, I no longer choose the winners of The Snobby Awards. I’d much rather it be a reflection of the public opinion, than another moronic thing I write on the internet. As such I decided that the best decision was to let you maniacs decide. You can find the results to the 10 best coffee shops here, the 10 best roasters here and the 10 best brunches here.

But honestly, it wouldn’t be another year unless I gave you a final taste of the moron I mentioned earlier. There are many people in the Vancouver coffee scene that don’t get mentioned enough, don’t get the love they deserve and don’t want to be mentioned on this website. So naturally, I’m going to mention them on this website. That’s right; if I drag them down to my level I look better for it.

So without further ado, except for the ado’s in this sentence, here’s the rest of the 2018 Snobby Awards. God help you all.

The “Winter is Coming” Award

Winner: Grant from Beanstock.

In my interview with Grant, from the wildly popular Beanstock Festival, he said “Some people mistake me for John Snow“. So this year’s Winter is Coming Award goes to him and his mispelling of the name Jon! However, he couldn’t be here to receive the award because of the fact that he’s making sweet love to a dragon or something. I don’t know, I stopped watching when Aquaman died from the flu.

Most “Lickable Face” Award

That’s right, you read it correctly. Not likeable, lickable. What? Have you never licked his face? You definitely need to, I hear it’s awesome. Whilst you’re at it, go check out his blog, as it promotes the Vancouver coffee scene. You know how much I love that.

The “Filter Coffee of the Year” Award

I tried a LOT of great coffee this year, but this particular roast really did it for me. Massive notes of grape and blueberries. It was also idiot proof to make at home. And I should know, because I’m an idiot.

The “Best All Rounder Coffee” Award

Hands down the easiest to brew, easiest to appreciate and easiest to drink coffee in Vancouver right now. These are the beans that anyone moving into specialty coffee should start with. Warm, rich and buttery, it’s an absolute delight to drink.

Most “Unique Coffee” Award

One of the most welcoming and charming vegetarian joints in Vancouver, that just so happens to have a totally unique way of making coffee. “Coffee at Maktaka” is kind of like Turkish coffee, but also not.

Best “Co-Working Space Coffee” Award

“Free Gourmet Coffee” is usually code for “HEY ANY OF YOU GUISE LIKES THE COSTCO SACKS OF ETHICAL BEEN DARK ROASTS?”. But in the case of Werklab, a place I spent a few months growing my new company Siply from, they actually live up to the hype. Work from here and you get unlimited access to Timbertrain espresso. They’re also bloody lovely people too.
Side note – I moved on from Werklab because I got accepted to the amazing Launch Academy incubator… who then proceeded to somehow convince me to make THEM coffee. Damn those guys are smooth talkers.

The “DAMN, is that Guy Topless?” Award

As sarcastic as the title sounds, I want to highlight quite possibly the most generous bloke in the coffee scene today. Dusty manages Agro, who won a bunch of snobbies already, but I want to add to this a few things I’ve seen since I’ve gotten to know him. 1) When I mentioned I was moving house and his reaction was “Do you need help? I have a truck”. In a former life I used to own a truck and my personal reaction would have been to RUN THE F AWAY. 2) Pistol and Burnes Coffee burned down in a freak accident, so Dusty’s reaction to this was to SHUT HIS COFFEE SHOP DOWN FOR THE WEEKED, so he could help them fill their orders by using his roaster. 3) He donated a keg of beer to recent Nemesis get together, with no promotion expectations at all. I’ll shut it off now, as I’m starting to sound like a stalker, but let me tell you something, Dusty will lend you the shirt off his back if you ask him (topless, gettit?).

The “Best Vegetarian Instagrammer You’ve Not Heard of” Award

Whilst I’m not a foodie, I do love learning about where to eat in Vancouver. TheBrocolliRanch has consistently offered up the goods when it comes to veggie eateries. Don’t worry, I’ve eaten along side him and despite him being one of those odd people who doesn’t eat things with faces, he can most definitely be trusted.

I’m pretty sure she has no job, because she seems to eat 400 times a day simultaneously in different cities. Either way, she’s got a wicked Instagram account with loads of great tips on food and coffee. If you ever want to meet her just go to Modus Coffee, because I’m pretty sure she sleeps there.

The “Best Coffee Subscription Service” Award

This is going to seem sponsored because I posted about a freebie I got from them the other day, but I swear it isn’t! I’ve tried a bunch of subscription services and these guys are amazing, their service is top notch and the freebies you sometimes get with your monthly pack are always great fun.

The “Best Coffee SHOP Subscription Service” Award

This is sure as hell is sponsored, as it’s my damn company! Head over to www.getsiply.com and sign up for the mail alerts for when I launch this bad boy. It’s going to BLOW YOUR MIND and ensure you never drink another bad coffee.

The “Coffee Shop I Bet You’ve Not Heard Of Yet” Award

It’s only been open a few weeks, but I predict we’ll be hearing a lot more from this place over 2019. I was particularly fond of their Burundi pour over. It’s in the Canadian Bible Society, so if you’re a heathen like me, wear sunscreen!

The “Place You’re Most Likely To Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence” Award

I don’t know of anywhere else in the city where you can drink so many different variations of coffee at once. Light, dark, sweet, fruity, chocolatey or a million other notes, all exist through the Espressotec front door, to the left a bit and then at the back a bit more. Guaranteed you can drink so much caffeine you’ll see God. Or more likely Jebus.

The “The Indiana Jones Made it at the Last Minute” Award

They opened one and a half weeks before the end of the year, so they officially win the award for making it into the dying throws of the month. The coffee shop is actually more of a coffee window, with beans from Moving Coffee and one of the best flat whites I’ve had in ages.

The “Most Unique Shop of 2018” Award

Winner: The Garden Strathcona

I love that this coffee shop has cast out the usual light wood, white walls, brickwork look and instead embraced darker wood, greenery and dark shades of paint. It’s a stunning coffee shop and they just so happen to have incredible coffee from Agro and one of the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had in my life. So much so that I’ve dubbed them Crack Cocaine cookies… on account of the crack I’m pretty sure that’s in them! They’ve also made insane efforts to ensure that as many things as possible in their shop are sustainable, going so far as to drive to the US to pick up lids for their to-go cups!

The “Best Photobomb” Award

In Conclusion

Many of you have asked how this website makes money. It doesn’t. I don’t sell ad’s, I don’t do paid promotional posts and I don’t shill for companies, but I do get the occasional freebie coffee or bit of food. I tried affiliate links, but I’ve decided to abandon those for the future as they don’t promote local as much as I’d like.

If this site makes no money – so be it. As long as it helps grow the coffee scene and you all keep reading it, I’ll keep running it! This was never about turning a profit and it never will be.

However, because many of you asked for it, I set up a Patreon account here. I don’t have any expectations for you to donate, but it’s there if you feel you want to. I’ll always invest the money into the site to pay for server costs and any other site maintenance stuff. Any leftovers will find it’s way to promoting coffee in the city somehow. In return you get a bunch of amazing perks like early access to the posts on the site, a monthly chat with me, hell if you are crazy enough to want it I’ll come to your house and make coffee! I am pretty weird though, so watch out for that last one.

Thanks for an amazing 2018 everyone, just you wait to see what I’ve got planned for you in 2019!

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The Vancouver Coffee Snob is the highest rated coffee reviewer there has ever been on this site. Which makes sense really, as he's the only one posting on here.
His reviews should, at best, not be trusted and there's no substance to the rumor that he has a jar of instant coffee in his kitchen.
Ultimately his heart is in the right place. Physically that is... he's actually a bit of imbecile in person.